Missteps
by CHMW
Summary: Eddie feels betrayed by what Elise says in an interview, and as a result the two go through a huge roller coaster of make ups and break ups. Primarily EddiexElise, but another pairing is revealed later on in the story. final chapter up!
1. Overreaction

So here's my 2nd SSX story, and again its a EddiexElise thing. I just like the pairing a lot.

Anyways, the idea from this came from the boarder interviews they have in the game. I love the interview because it gives each character such personality, makes them more real. When I read Elise's interview though I thought it was kind of sad how she didn't even mention Eddie at all and in his interview he talked all about her. So with that I tried to imagine what Eddie's reaction would be if he ever read the interview, and this where the story came from. So far I've written 5 chapters, but I'm thinking it will end up being closer to 9 chapters than anything. Enjoy and please review!

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Ch. 1 Overreaction

Eddie Wachowski lay down on the soft bed, kicking his shoes off and folding his arms behind his head. Though the race had just finished not that long ago he found himself not the least bit tired; in fact his lean body was still pumping with all the adrenaline he had accumulated from the excitement of the race. The problem was that Eddie had retired to his room to take a quick nap and now his mind and body were so restless that he couldn't fall asleep even if he tried.

The young boarder looked out of the window to try and occupy his mind, and could see the sun winking at him from behind some clouds. They were a dull grey, yet they had a certain fluffiness to them that made him wish he could rest his fro on them. After a while Eddie grew board of imagining being with the clouds and stared up at the ceiling, which was a weird brown color that reminded him of muddy snow. Why would anyone want to paint a ceiling that color? It wasn't soothing, it was just ugly. Perhaps if it was the same color as the clouds…

"Wow I'm really bored."

He always had problems focusing when he was bored. Eddie kind of figured that if he just moved his attention from one thing to another in a rapid fashion it would cure his boredom. This hypothesis never worked though.

"Man, I wish there was a race or something to watch, but the next race doesn't start for another three hours! Course I would have been in that race if stupid Psymon didn't go all nutcase and tackle me on the last ramp. I swear if I ever get the chance I'm gonna repay him for that."

Eddie let his imagination roam at the thought of gaining revenge on the psycho boarder. His plans started out simple and grew more and more complex with timers, giant snowballs, and trap doors somehow inserted into the course. Eddie cackled at his schemes. They helped him let off a little steam.

The imaginary death plans only entertained him for so long, and after a little while Eddie once again grew board. He came up with the genius idea of reading whatever was closest to him, which happened to be a boarder magazine lying on the edge of the bed. Eddie wasn't a big fan of magazines, and the only magazines he did read where technology and computer ones. Call him a nerd if you will. Either way, a boarder magazine didn't seem too interesting to the freckled kid as he picked it up.

The magazine was called Xtreme Boarding and they were given the privilege to be the only magazine to cover the SSX circuit. Xtreme Boarding did not only cover all the races but also got detailed looks at the courses, boarder interviews, and commentary by the infamous Rahzel. As an act of gratitude and publicity Xtreme Boarding gave all the SSX boarders a free copy of each issue as they came out. Eddie usually flipped through it casually before throwing it away without much though. It was what was on the cover though that caught Eddie's attention, or rather who was on the cover. He found himself looking at a picture of the curvy, blonde Canadian posing on the magazine cover. Turns out that the boarder interview for this month was with none other than Elise Riggs herself. The cover boasted that the exclusive interview gave a personal insight into the life and competitive mind of the bombshell of the SSX world. Eddie couldn't help but snort at this statement; he happened to know that they asked the all the boarders the exact same questions for these magazine interviews and they were rather simplistic, like which course is their favorite and such. Either way he was rather excited to not only have something to help stave off the boredom, but also to see what Elise had said. Eddie quickly flipped through the pages and started to read.

The interview started with a quick little biography of Elise, saying how her competitive nature drove her to greatness in the SSX circuit. Eddie continued to read the interview with much gusto, but when his eyes reached one specific question towards the middle of the page the smile disappeared from his freckled face.

_**Have you made any friends on the tour? Enemies?**_

_I'm not here to make friends. This is a rough sport; sometimes people forget that. There are some on the tour who seem to think it's all a big party, some kind of popularity contest. I know better; I'm here to win, and if you get in my way, you're going down._

It felt as though someone had dropped a lead weight into the pit of his stomach. She didn't even mention him. Not once. It was as though the close bond that they had formed over the many months meant nothing to her. Was Elise just friends with him so she could take advantage of him in races; use him to help bypass the other racers and then take the gold for herself? Eddie felt his head spinning . . .

Eddie knew that Elise liked to keep up the appearance of being the independent competitor that could knock others out with her tough tactics and deadly curves, but this felt like betrayal. When the other boarders had been interviewed for Xtreme Boarding and had been asked the same question they all mentioned their close bonds with some of the boarders and loathing of others. Eddie himself had talked about Elise when the question was presented to him, and now he felt slightly annoyed and embarrassed that he did so. He had gushed on about her while she failed to even mention his name.

"Dumb blonde bitch," Eddie mumbled underneath his breath. Maybe it seemed silly that a simple interview had the redhead so riled up, but Eddie felt sincerely hurt by it. She had even gone out of her way to mention Marisol, whom was the person that he knew Elise was referring to when she said 'there are some on the tour who seem to think it's all a big party.' One of Elise's favorite pastimes was to complain about the young Venezuelan, and on more than one occasion the blonde had told Eddie that Marisol seemed to forget that this was a competition and not just one big party. So her hatred of Marisol was even more important to her then their friendship it seemed.

"Fine then, she's obviously not here to make friends. Now she won't have Eddie Wachowski to push around and complain to anymore." Eddie crumpled up the magazine in his hands and threw it against the wall with all his might, and quickly putting his shoes back on he decided to take his anger out on the slopes and stormed out of the room.


	2. Game Plan

Ch. 2 Game Plan 

In the days that had passed since Elise's interview had been published Eddie had been doing all that he could to give Elise the cold shoulder; however it went by unnoticed as she had received silver for the latest race held in Mercury City and was keeping busy with press conferences and bragging. Every time Elise spoke to Eddie though he always replied with either a shrug or grunt, keeping his eyes away from her.

Just as soon as the races finished in Mercury City the SSX boarders got on a plane, and ten hours later they landed in Charles de Gaulle International Airport. When they finally made their way out of the terminal (with Luther complaining about being hungry and wanting to stop at every restaurant and café they passed by) a few white vans were waiting to take them and their luggage up to the Elysium Alps. After loading his bags into the back Eddie climbed his way into the van that did not contain Elise and sat himself between Brodi and Mac. He immediately regretted this decision as Brodi immersed himself in an environmental book and refused to talk, while Mac was sporting his new gold medal and did not stop talking about his win for the entire trip.

"Yo man, did you see tha' dope trick I pulled at the end? Dude it was sick! I hit the ramp with so much speed I didn' know wat to do, and I was able to totally pull off a major 540-degree nose grab and won tha' bitch—"

"I know, I know, you've told us a million times! Would ya give it a rest?" Eddie replied. He was already annoyed with everything that had happened between him and Elise, the last thing he needed was some homie flaunting his win in his freckled face. Mac gave Eddie a look of irritation in response to interrupting his bragging; he threw his headphones over his ears and blasted some rap to the annoyance of everyone else in the van. Eddie then spent the rest of the van ride up in silence. It wasn't until they reached the hotel did Eddie start talking to others and putting on a smile, just so that they wouldn't ask him what was wrong.

Once everyone got their room assignments from Rahzel and settled down after the long flight the group met up in the lounge, and the usual commotion begun. Psymon stalked around and tried to find every manageable way to frighten Kaori, Elise and Marisol commenced in calling each other 'slut' and 'whore,' and Mac seemed to be trying to outdo everyone by playing his music as loud as possible.

It wasn't until Marisol and Seeiah headed up to bed and Kaori was so fed up with Psymon that she dragged Mac upstairs to play some video games did things finally settle down a bit. The competitors had started to discuss the whether conditions for tomorrows race when Elise tapped Eddie on the shoulder and beckoned him to follow her upstairs. The redhead considered blowing her off and staying put, but curiosity got the best of him and he trailed her up the stairs.

Elise lead him to her room where she unlocked the door and flopped down on the bed once she entered. Normally Eddie would have followed suit, but instead he just sat himself rather stiffly at the edge of the bed. Elise didn't seem to mind or take notice of Eddie's cold attitude and just babbled on as usual.

"Man did you hear that Marisol? She should look in the mirror before she starts calling others sluts; she's the definition of the word."

"Mhm."

"Anyways, I wanted to discuss strategy for tomorrow. I overheard Zoe and Moby saying that they were going to try and get out of the gate later than everyone else so that they could quickly pick off everyone one by one as they move towards the front. I think we should obviously try to get to the front of the pack as quickly as possibly, and I think the best plan is to avoid that shortcut by the second ridge; everyone will be taking that one but if we bypass it we can avoid heavy punches by Zoe. I swear the only other person who hits harder than that girl is Psymon, and he doesn't care if he knocks you dead with the punches he throws around."

"Mhm."

Elise seemed a little unsure by Eddie's lack of response. "So we're all set? Avoid shortcut by second ridge?"

"Sure."

"Mmk well I think we'd better get off to bed. It's an early one tomorrow and we want to be as rested as possible to take on the pack."

"Uh yeah. Hey Elise there's something I wanna talk to you about…"

"Well can't it wait till tomorrow? Seriously Ed, it's been a long day and I didn't sleep a wink on that noisy plane. Tomorrow I'll be all ears."

Eddie considered arguing the importance of what he needed to say, but Elise was already shuffling through her suitcase and getting ready for bed. She wouldn't even listen to him now; once she had her mind set on something it was impossible to get the Canadian to focus on anything else.

"I…well…ok then. G'night."

"Nighty night! See you in the morning!"

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Everyone was so busy in the morning with grabbing a quick breakfast and getting out on the slopes for warm-up before the race that Eddie didn't have a chance to talk to Elise. As he entered the starting gate he shot a glance over at her; her blue eyes met his brown ones and she threw him a wink and a smile. A knot formed in his stomach, but he had already made up his mind what he was going to do. He was not going to be following Elise's orders anymore. Time to take the race into his own hands. The young boarder gripped the handlebars on either side of him tightly; he shifted his board back and forth waiting for the light to turn green. Once the last beep rang and the light changed, Eddie threw his body forward and sped out of the starting gate. The race had begun.

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"WHERE THE FUCK IS HE!?"

Elise stormed into the waiting tent with her face alight with rage. Everyone stopped talking instantly and all stared at her. The only one who did not turn his eyes on the furious blonde was the one she was out to kill.

Elise stomped over to where Eddie stood until she was less than a foot away, her nostrils flared in anger. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT WACHOWSKI? YOU WERE _NOT_ SUPPOSE TO TAKE THAT SHORTCUT BY THE SECOND RIDGE! WE HAD A GAME PLAN, REMEMBER? WE COULD HAVE WON IT AND QUALIFIED FOR THE SEMI-FINALS!"

With a calm look Eddie turned his head and looked her dead in the eyes. "We? Oh it's we now?"

Slightly taken aback by his response Elise replied, "What do you mean by that? We could have both qualified if you weren't such an idiot and took the wrong route! I ended up placing forth and you got last!"

Eddie felt his anger starting to bubble underneath the surface. "Oh yeah? When have you ever cared for anyone but yourself? You're just here to win, not to make friends. All you've ever done is use me to help you look out for other boarders and take them out! Well I'm sick of it! No more!"

Her anger turned into confusion on her face, but before she could give a response Eddie turned his back on her and headed out of the tent. The canvas whipped around and his fro disappeared from sight, leaving Elise perplexed and everyone else gawking at her.


	3. Second Thoughts

Third ch, and this one features a character that I hardly ever read about in the SSX fanfics. Read and enjoy!

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Ch. 3 Second Thoughts

Eddie was still breathing heavily from his angry outburst when he reached his room in the hotel. Without even changing out of his wet clothing or taking off his shoes he threw himself down on the bed and muttered angrily into the pillow. He was pressing his face so forcefully into the bed that little white lights were popping in front of his eyes. The back of his neck was still scarlet from the anger, and his hands were grabbing the ends of the pillow so hard that his knuckles turned white. Minutes pass by and the anger seemed to subside a bit; it was rekindled however an hour later when someone knocked on the door.

"I don't wanna talk to you."

"Eddie it's me, Brodi."

The sound of Brodi's soothing voice surprised the freckled kid. He was expecting Elise to come up to his room and yell at him some more. Eddie had no reason to be angry at Brodi, so he heaved his thin body up from the bed and went over to open the door. Brodi stood there with a calm posture and reassuring smile, which just further annoyed Eddie. Once Brodi entered the room Eddie decided to retake his position flopped down on the bed.

The Zen surfer entered the room cautiously as if afraid that if he moved too quickly it might set Eddie off. Slowly and silently he made his way over to the window and sat down in the armchair nearby. Eddie didn't stir or even acknowledge his presence, though he did notice that his nostrils were now filled with the scent of green tea and incense.

"So…some race huh?"

Eddie gave a snort. That was the understatement of the year.

Brodi gave a sigh. "Listen, I didn't come up here to bother you or force you to explain your actions. I just thought you might want someone to talk to."

Eddie felt torn; part of him did want to talk about it, but another part just wanted to be left alone. Perhaps for good. He finally lifted his head from his pillow and turned it sideways to look over at Brodi, but he wasn't looking at Eddie anymore. Instead his soft eyes seemed to be focused on some article on the bed. Eddie shifted his body to get a better look and his heart seemed to skip a beat. The Xtreme Boarding magazine was lying on the bed in a crumpled mess; its vibrant cover stood out easily against the dullness of the bedspread. Brodi lifted his muscular self out of the chair, walked over, and picked up the discarded magazine.

"Ah, so this is what the problem is…" he mumbled, and sitting back in the chair he flipped through it until he came to the page he was looking for.

"Did you read it?"

The blonde nodded slowly. "Sure did. I have to admit I thought it was peculiar that she didn't mention anything about you in here. You two are like two peas in a pod sometimes."

"We were."

He looked up from the magazine and gave Eddie an exacerbated look. "Aw c'mon, you're going to let a little thing like this come between you two? I mean I understand that you are upset about it, heck I would be too, but that's hardly a reason to stay angry with her forever. One must forgive others and move on to keep one's life in balance."

Eddie shifted uncomfortably on the bed. He knew Brodi was right, but he still felt betrayed in a way. He voiced this thought to Brodi who nodded in agreement.

"I understand, but you should have talked to her about it instead of ruining the race for her—"

"I tried! I tried to talk to her last night, but she was so concerned about the race today and being all rested for it that I didn't get a chance. When I went to bed last night I made my decision to ditch her and look out for myself. Heck that's what she always does, it's my turn now."

"C'mon, we both know that's not true. She cares deeply for you, and she would never jeopardize you in any way so she could win. You know it."

Again Eddie shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah…ok. You might be right. It doesn't matter though, now way in hell she'll forgive me for today, and I'm not even sure I forgive her yet." He sat up at the end of this statement and suddenly became interested in staring down at the floor.

Brodi set down the magazine and stood up. "Well it won't hurt to go and try to talk to her. The worst that could happen is she slams the door in your face…"

"And we never speak again."

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "It's a possibility, but you won't know until you've tried. I'd wait till tomorrow though so she can cool down a bit; I'm sure she's still furious about not qualifying. Elise was never good at taking losses."

Eddie nodded, his whole body seemed numb. Brodi showed himself out and wished him good luck as he closed the door behind him. The redhead stayed still for a while until he realized he was still in his soaking wet clothes. Slowly he got up, stripped, and headed into the shower where he stayed in there for an exceptionally long time, his thoughts buzzing uncontrollably around his head.

Once out of the shower he pulled on some dry pajamas and sat in the armchair that Brodi had earlier occupied. His gaze shifted to the window. The hotel was situated in a little French town at the base of the mountains, and a light flurry was now starting to fall on the picturesque streets and buildings. Evening was starting to set in, covering the town in soft shades of orange. Eddie watched as people moved up and down the street, most of which seemed to be couples that were holding each other with love and warmth in mind. He felt a slight pang in his chest as he observed the couples passing by, and he would have given anything to be them. They looked so happy, so carefree. He wanted to continue to watch them, but fatigue finally got the best of him and he had to surrender to the need for sleep. Climbing into bed he dreaded tomorrow, and he now regretted ever letting that stupid interview get the best of them. Why had it bothered him so much? Why had he overreacted?

"I'll just hope that she can forgive me." He hadn't really forgave Elise for the interview, but is fear of losing her as a friend forever outweighed his fury towards her, and with this in mind he finally succumbed to sleep.


	4. Rude Awakenings

Ok so this is probably my least favorite chapter that I've written so far, so feedback would be really nice so that I can improve it. Any really bad grammar (which would not surprise me) or OOC you spot please tell me. Things like that sometimes bother me in other fanfics, and it would suck if I did the same things in my own fanfics. Thanks and enjoy!

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Ch. 4 Rude Awakenings

Eddie…Eddie…EDDIE!

Eddie jumped into wakefulness at the sound of his name being shouted. Lying on his stomach he opened his eyes which were still crusted over a bit from sleep. The sun seeped into his eyes as he flipped onto his back to see who had woken him. Rubbing his eyes into focus he was surprised at who was standing there, the last person he would ever expect to see at the foot of his bed.

Marisol stood there with her arms on her hips, sporting her usual skimpy top and tight pants. Her orange shirt glowed in the sunlight, and though they were inside she had a pair of designer sunglasses perched on the bridge of her nose. Her blonde hair fell perfectly down her back and framed her face, complimenting her flawlessly tan complexion. Eddie was absolutely stunned to see her anywhere near him, let alone in his room. He found himself gaping at her for a few moments before he finally coming to his senses.

"M-Marisol? What the heck are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"You left the door ajar chico," she replied, taking off her sunglasses and letting them rest on top of her head.

"O-oh, right. Ok well why are you here?"

"Rahzel sent me up here to get your skinny ass up. It's almost noon and Rahzel said he doesn't care how much you hate Elise, you have to come down because we have a photo shoot at two."

Sitting up in bed Eddie looked over to the end table at the alarm clock, and sure enough it was almost twelve. He continued to rub the sleep out of his eyes as he turned his gaze back to the Latina chica, who was now looking around at some of the contents of the room that lay strewn all over the place: wet clothes, shoes, food wrappers, and so on.

Slightly embarrassed by the state of the room Eddie tried to shift her focus. "I don't hate Elise, no matter what you guys think."

Marisol turned her eyes back on his fro. "Well you have a funny way of treating your friends then. You were right though about her not caring about anyone else but herself. I think it will do her good hearing it from someone else, maybe she will finally realize what a bitch she can be."

As annoyed as he was with Elise he still considered her a friend, and he didn't appreciate Marisol standing in front of him bashing her. "Hey I'm sorry that Rahzel made you come up here to wake me up, but there's no need to start bashing—"

"Oh Rahzel didn't make me do anything. I volunteered."

Now Eddie was just confused. Why on earth would she volunteer to come and get _him_? His confusion must have translated on his face because Marisol continued, "Well I actually wanted to ask you if you could look at my computer for me. It's doing all kinds of strange things and I can't get onto the internet to check my emails, and I've heard you know your way around computers."

Eddie nodded understandingly. So she just wanted to use him too. Great. "Yeah sure I could look at it later today or something. I thought you hated me though?"

Marisol gave a shrill laugh. "No, I don't hate you. It's just that you're friends with that blonde whore and since you're usually around with her I can't really talk to you then, can I?"

"No, I guess not. Ok yeah so I'll look at your computer later. Hey you wouldn't happen to know where Elise is, would ya?"

She gave a shrug as she headed over by the door. "Last saw her she was over in the café. Adios y buenos suerte."

"Er right, thanks." Eddie finished lamely as Marisol gave him a little smile and disappeared out of the room. Once she left he quickly jumped out of bed and changed into some funky clothes, combed his fro, and put on some shoes all in the matter of minutes. Once satisfied with his reflection in the mirror the redhead made his way downstairs in hopes of finding Elise.

He entered the café and the smell of roasted coffee and bacon wafted into his nose, but he was so nervous about talking to Elise that he was able to completely ignore the grumbling that was coming from the pit of his stomach. Frantically he scanned the café and found her sitting alone at a table, twisting herself around in her seat so she could talk to Brodi and Kaori who were sharing a table behind her. Eddie froze once he caught sight of her, but it took Elise a few minutes to realize he was there. Finally her eyes roamed away from the duo and rested right on Eddie. Her dazzling smile faded in an instant, and she turned around in her seat so her back was now towards him. Eddie watched as Kaori and Brodi both turned to see what had made Elise go cold all of a sudden, but one look at Eddie was all they needed. Deciding to avoid watching the fight that would inevitably occur, the two of them got up and headed over to the lounge with their green tea. Brodi gave Eddie a little smile of encouragement before he disappeared around the corner with Kaori.

It took Eddie a moment to get his legs to move forward. They seemed petrified with nervousness. In what seemed like an eternity he finally made it over to the table where Elise sat. When he approached she didn't even look over at him and stared intently elsewhere. Eddie was somehow able to pluck up enough courage to talk. "H-hey Elise."

Eyes not moving she replied, "We have nothing to say to each other Wachowski."

"No that's just it, we do. I need to explain to you why I did what I did in the race." Eddie said quickly, seating himself in the chair opposite of the Canadian.

Her eyes quickly snapped on him, temper rising steadily. "Oh explain to me? Explain why you left me high and dry and then why you completely humiliated me in front of the entire group for no reason? Oh well please do explain, I'm sure you have an excellent reason."

Eddie reached for his back pocket and pulled out the Xtreme Boarding magazine. As placed it on the table between them a look of confusion appeared on Elise's face. She quickly picked it up and started fingering through it. "What's this?"

"What, you telling me that you don't even recognize the magazine that you did that spectacular interview for?"

Elise didn't say anything for a while as her eyes scanned over the page which Eddie was sure contained the interview. The further she read the more her face seemed to droop, and when she finished reading and put the magazine down there was a hint of guilt in her icy eyes. "I forgot about that interview, it was a while ago when I gave it."

Silence ensued. The annoyance that Eddie had felt towards her had in fact subsided overnight, but it was now starting to boil over again. He didn't want to be the one to say something next.

"Listen," Elise started, "I know I was being a bit of a bitch in that interview, and I understand why you've been upset with me, but do you really think that I deserved that complete betrayal in the race?" Though Elise wasn't the type of person to apologize, Eddie had known her for a while and he could usually tell when she was sorry. This was one of those times.

He mulled over her words for a bit though. She was right that the punishment did not fit the crime. Eddie had felt so betrayed by the interview though…but why? Why was it such a big deal to him? He had brooded over this for almost a week, but when he really thought about it the whole thing shouldn't have been that big of a deal. So why did it seem like such a big deal to him?

And as he was looking at her blue eyes, golden hair, and perfect complexion the answer hit him clear in the face: he was in love with her. Eddie suddenly felt as though he had fallen headfirst into a pool of water; chills ran up and down his body and he became aware that his palms were sweating profusely. Elise was beautiful; it was something that even her enemies could not deny. Eddie had always thought her beautiful, but he had never admitted to himself how deep his feelings for her were. And despite her quick temper and icy demeanor, when she did let her defenses down she was capable of being a great person and friend. Eddie was sure he had always known how he felt towards her, but he had never realized how deep his feelings were. Now the truth was right in front of his eyes. Now he could see how much she meant to him, and now he knew he had to do all that he could to repair the damage that had been done to their friendship.

"El, you're right, it was a stupid and horrible thing for me to just betray you like that. Guess I was just upset because I thought our friendship meant more to you. I thought you would at least mention it or something."

Elise stared at him for a bit drumming her fingers on the table. Eddie couldn't tell if she was angry at him or just trying to figure out what to say. Finally she spoke. "I am…I'm…_sorry_…that the interview hurt you like that. I do care about you, I just kinda have an appearance to make. No one wants to hear the tough, independent Elise Riggs prattle on about all of the great friends she's made on the tour. You know, better than anyone I think, that without my reputation…I feel like no one. Nothing."

He nodded vigorously. "I know, I know ya. I just blew the whole thing out of proportion. I didn't mean to. And I do appreciate your apology, really I do." He gave her a little goofy smile, and she gave him one back. Eddie felt his cheeks turn red. "Oh and Elise, I am truly sorry about everything that happened in the tent after the race. I mean it was bad enough I ruined your plan, and then to yell at you like that in front of everyone. It was a horrible thing to do."

She disregarded it with a wave of her had. "Hey it's water under the bridge. I'm sorry about the interview, you're sorry about the race. Let's just move on and be friends again, ok?"

Eddie was never happier to hear such words. "Sure thing. I'm gonna start forgetting about the whole thing right now. In fact," Eddie picked up the magazine and waved it around. "The first thing I'm gonna do is burn this stupid thing. You in?"

Elise threw her head back and laughed, which made Eddie blush again a little. "Thanks but I'm going to have to pass. I didn't have time this morning to do my makeup properly, so I have to go and redo it before the photo shoot today. I'll catch up with you later though, ok?" She grabbed his hand and gave it a fleeting squeeze before getting up and heading out of the café. Eddie didn't even have a chance to respond, but he just shrugged it off and went off scanning the hotel for the nearest fireplace.


	5. Turning Japanese

Sorry for taking such a long time uploading this chapter. I had wrote it back in the beginning of september, but it took me forever to reread it and edit it thanks to my insane homework load. Stupid college. Anyways this is the longest chapter yet so hopefully that will make up for it taking forever to put up. Please R&R!

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Ch. 5 Turning Japanese

About a week later all the hurt between the hot blonde and goofy redhead had healed, and for Eddie all seemed right in the world. The tour had moved on from the cold French mountains to the manmade snow of Tokyo, and the renewed friendship with Elise seemed to have energized Eddie enough to help him win sliver on the Snowdream course. He was even able to take some revenge on Psymon for the attack on the Mercury City Meltdown course by pushing the psychotic tattooed boarder into a fence. Eddie could hardly stop smiling as he lay stretched out on Elise's bed, listening to the hairdryer blaring from the other side of the bathroom door.

The silver medal lay on his chest as he waited patiently for Elise to finish getting ready. He wonder if she would ever be done. "Hey Elise! Will ya hurry up?"

The sound of the blow dryer had stopped and Elise stuck her head out from around the door. "Hey, if you don't frickin' shut up I'm going to strangle you with that stupid medal around your neck."

Eddie couldn't help but throw back his head and laugh. "C'mon, you're just jealous cause Marisol tripped you up at the gate."

"Oh my gosh don't even remind me about that bitch. She's such a fucking…"

"Bitch?"

It seemed Eddie had said the right thing as Elise let out a laugh. "My thoughts exactly."

"She's not that bad though."

Elise stopped applying her eye shadow to gawk at him from the bathroom doorway. "What the crap did you just say?"

Eddie felt the smile on his face completely disappear. He had gone over a few times to the Venezuelan's room to help her with her computer, and they couldn't help but converse in these little meetings. She wasn't as big of a whore as she led on to be, but she still dressed like one. He didn't really consider her a good friend or anything, but despite himself he had actually enjoyed her company a bit. Still he knew that Elise absolutely hated the fact that her best friend had any contact with Marisol.

"I mean she is a total skank and all," Eddie started, "but…" Eddie really didn't want to get in another fight with Elise since they just mended their friendship, so he went along with it. "No yeah you're right; bitch pretty much sums her up."

Elise rewarded his response with a smile. Another disaster avoided. The blonde went back to applying her makeup, though Eddie thought that she really didn't need it; she was gorgeous enough as it is. Not too surprisingly Eddie hadn't told her his feelings for her yet. He was sure she would probably say she didn't feel the same way, but he knew he still needed to tell her. He tried to assure by telling himself that he was just biding his time, waiting for the right moment. Yeah, that was it.

"So where are we going tonight?" Elise said as she grabbed her purse from the dresser.

Eddie was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of her voice. He sat himself up on the bed. "Oh well I heard that Zoe was rounding up a group to go drinking at the bar around the corner, though the drinking age in Tokyo is twenty. That's so not groovy."

"Relax, they barely card here. I can always buy you a beer if worse comes to worse."

A knot started to form in his stomach. He didn't need reminding how much older Elise was than him. It was a slap of reality, and something else to add to a long list of things that would make it even less likely of them being together. "Yeah, we could do that," he replied, feeling like a deflated balloon.

"Ok well let's getta move on then. I just hope Psymon doesn't get drunk again, remember last time when he tried to unzip his fly to use it as a microphone to do karaoke with?"

Eddie forced a laugh. "Yeah, that was a funny one."

"Funny? If he had succeeded I would have been scarred for life. Enough talking though, let's go drink!"

He followed Elise in a kind of daze. He now felt that his fantasy of being with this gorgeous being now felt more distant than ever. Their ages, personalities, looks…there was just so many things that separated the two.

The redhead practically dragged his feet as they made their way into the bar where the other boarders where waiting. Though they were in the middle of Tokyo the bar had attempted to style itself like any bar you might find in America. It had an old-fashion juke box in the corner, neon signs advertising American beers, and even a billiard table. Eddie might have thought they were in a bar somewhere back home if everything wasn't in Japanese.

As Elise entered with Eddie in tow she headed over to the booth where Zoe, Moby, and Psymon were doing shots with Luther and JP sitting off to the side. The two had a surly look on their faces, and Eddie thought that perhaps they wished that their company had been more on the sexy side and not a hardcore punk, a psycho, and a Brit. Eddie took a seat next to his blonde friend as the waitress stepped up to the table, pen and paper in had ready to take orders. Both Eddie and Elise ordered some beers and the other three took another round of vodka shots. Eddie's thoughts were still swimming around uncontrollably, but he was relieved that he was able to get some alcohol without being carded. Perhaps the beer would relax him.

Once the Japanese waitress came back with the beers Eddie quickly downed the first one. The amber liquid went down his throat and hit his rather empty stomach hard; he could already feel the effect of the alcohol starting to work on him. Luckily after his glass was empty Eddie was able to loosen up and enjoy himself some.

After a while Psymon and Zoe grew board of doing shots and decided to play some darts, though it turned more into a match of trying to hit the board and not one of the other patrons of the bar. Luther and JP grew board as well and started up a game of billiards, leaving Eddie, Elise and Moby sitting together in the booth.

Moby sat rather quietly, watching the drunken pair of Psymon and Zoe for a bit before turning his gaze over to Eddie. "Oi Watchowski, you finally won yourself a medal. Took you long enough, don' ya think mate?"

Eddie sneered in response. The two of them never really got along; Eddie thought that Moby was nothing but a wannabe tough guy who was a big show off, and Moby thought that Eddie was an immature annoyance with no talent. They didn't hate each other, they just didn't see eye to eye. "Well ya know how it is sometimes…oh no wait, you don't know how it is. You haven't won a medal for over a year. Jeez it must suck being sucha loser," Eddie finished, pulling the medal out from within his Hawaiian shirt and letting it rest on his chest.

The sight of the silver medal around Eddie's neck seemed to annoy Moby even more. "You're the loser 'round here mate. You're nothing but an immature git, you know that?"

"Ah put a sock in it! You're just annoyed cause I beat ya, fair and square too. Not need to cry about it."

" 'ey now, you little wanker! I am more talented than you—"

"Hey!" Elise's booming voice quieted the two and their bickering. "Hey would you two stop it? This is going nowhere!"

Moby had been leaning forward as if to jump over the table and give Eddie a piece of his mind, but at Elise's command he leaned back and seemed to calm down a bit. "Wha'ever, you jus' love protecting your boyfriend there. He's even less talented than you are, love."

Elise shifted her body so she could turn her steely eyes towards him. "Really now? Well from what I see he's the one wearing the silver medal around his neck, not you. I'd say you're the talentless one here, wouldn't you?"

His dark eyes could do nothing but stare at her beautiful form. He tried opening his mouth to give some sort of comeback, but shut it quickly when found nothing else to say. In the end Moby seemed to tire of the argument and he stood up, drained his last shot glass full of vodka, and headed over to Zoe who was leaning unsteadily on a pool stick for support.

Elise drank the last bit of her beer and slammed it down on the table. "That dumb little shit. Don't listen to a word he says, he's just mad he didn't win anything. You are way more talented than he is," and as if to reassure him she grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.

Eddie felt his face flush bright red at this act. He thought that maybe she would squeeze his hand and then let go, but she kept hold of it. He soft blue eyes were resting upon him, and a small smile was stretched on her soft face. She held his hand for a few minutes and when she did let go it seemed to him rather unwillingly. In all the time he'd known her she had never done anything like that before, well not to him anyways. Her eyes seemed to be filled with something else that night, some kind of affection he had not seen before. Was it possible she may have had the same feelings towards him? Eddie downed the glass of beer and decided just to wait and see where the night would take him.

The two continued to talk for a while until an unexpected slam startled them. The heavy exit door and been opened and then slammed shut by accident, but the two newcomers had definitely not walked into the bar by accident. Marisol and her closest friend Seeiah were now standing in the bar, both dressed their best and ready for a good time. Marisol, who was wearing a little black dress with a clashing pink handbag and matching shoes, headed over to the pool table and immediately gave JP a hug and a kiss. Seeiah did not look as enthused as the Latina chick did and made sure to not to be down wind of the beefy Luther.

The minute that Marisol had entered the bar Elise had adopted a sour look upon her face. Her hate for Marisol had only increased thanks to the last race, and Eddie was sure that the last thing she wanted was to be in the same room as the Venezuelan. Just as he predicted the Canadian quickly stood up and while grabbing her purse said just loud enough for Marisol to hear, "C'mon Ed, let's go somewhere else. The slutiness of the room just increased too much for my liking."

Marisol didn't seem to notice as she was now too busy flirting with JP, much to Seeiah's dismay. The two left the American-style bar and stepped out into the cool night air. The neon lights of Tokyo glittered and winked at them, and all the sounds of the traffic passing by added to the atmosphere of chaos. It wasn't that late yet, but really having no where else to go Elise seemed to be steering Eddie back to the hotel. Eddie walked a few paces behind the blonde as she was taking such big strides, evidentially trying to put as much space in between her and Marisol as she could. They entered the hotel lobby and went to the elevators, taking one straight up to Elise's room.

When they reached the room Elise threw her purse onto the bed and sat on the edge, taking her shoes off quite forcefully. She was still breathing heavily when she finally got them off and threw them hard on the ground. Lying back on the bed she gave a sound of annoyance. "Ugh, now I'm not in the mood to even go out anymore. I hate her so much."

Eddie lay down next to Elise and stared up at the ceiling. "Yeah I know. You shouldn't let her get to you, that's exactly what she wants."

She rolled over on her side, propping her head up with her arm and looking over at the younger boarder. "I know, I just don't understand why anyone would even converse with her. It just annoys me. Anyways, do you mind if we just stay in her for the night? Kinda lame, but I really just don't feel like going out again."

He turned his head to face her and just admired her for a moment before responding. "Yeah sure, I'm kinda tired anyways. Must be the beer."

Elise reached over to the nightstand next to the bed and with the remote she turned on the TV. She flipped through the channels a little bit before settling on something to watch, and setting the remote back on the nightstand she scooted over and rested her head on Eddie's shoulder.

Eddie froze. He could feel his heart pounding rapidly in his chest; he would be surprised if she couldn't hear it. Though his mind was a bit fuzzy from the alcohol he knew that this was it, this had been the moment he had been waiting for. He had doubted that Elise could ever have any feelings for him, but here she was with her head on his shoulder and her arm hooked around his neck. It was his opportune moment, and it was now or never.

"Hey Elise."

"Mm yeah?" she replied rather sleepily, slipping her hand from around his neck to his shoulder underneath her head. He was nervous, but he felt some sort of that allowed him to continue speaking.

"I…um…did you hear what Moby said in the bar? Calling me you're boyfriend and all?" It was a lame attempt to move onto the subject, but it was the best he could think of.

"Oh yeah, they're always saying stuff like that."

A look of utter surprise and shock exploded onto Eddie's face. He turned his head a bit so he could get a better look at her. "T-they what? They say what?"

Elise sat up and propped herself up with a couple of pillows, and Eddie suddenly felt a chill now that her body was no longer heating him. "Oh you know, they are always teasing me and saying you're my boyfriend just because we spend so much time together. You know how they can be."

"But who? Who does this all the time? Moby?"

"Everyone. They all say it. Except for Kaori since she's like so innocent and naive…though once she did ask me if you were my boyfriend and then went into a fit of giggles before I could answer."

Eddie could feel his palms becoming all sweaty; his heart felt like it had jumped into his throat and was preventing him from talking. Finally he was able to say, "Well then…why don't we?"

Elise's eyes stayed glued to the television. "Why don't we what?"

"Well everyone seems to already think that we're dating anyways, so why don't we just…date?"

She finally shifted her eyes from the TV set to Eddie's vibrate fro. A smile flickered on her face. "Yeah right Ed, stop joking around."

A twinge of pain went through his chest. "I'm serious. Why not us?"

"C'mon, I'm like four years older than you."

"Age is just a number. If you really like someone, if you love someone, it wouldn't matter."

Elise's smile completely faded from her face and was replaced with a look of realization. She picked up the remote again and muted the TV and quickly after turned her head towards him again. She had all of his attention on him now. "Oh. Oh Eddie, I…I didn't mean to lead you on. I mean I like you, I have a great time with you, but I don't feel for you like that. I just…don't."

"B-but today, you…the hand holding and—"

"I held your hand because I was trying to comfort you. You looked really upset after the argument with Moby. Jeez just because someone holds your hand doesn't mean they're madly in love with you Eddie."

"I know that I'm not twelve, but you were all over me just a second ago. How am I supposed to interpret that?"

Her enchanting azure eyes looked down at the bedspread with a hint of guilt in them. "I didn't mean to lead you on," she repeated, "but I thought we were just hanging out, havin' a good time. If I would have known how you felt, I wouldn't have done anything like that."

Everything was crashing down around Eddie. He felt the walls caving in, the color drain from all the world. The worst he had thought could happen was now playing out in front of his eyes. Not only was she admitting to not having any feelings for him whatsoever, but she also seemed embarrassed by the whole situation. Eddie wanted nothing more than to just melt away like a pile of snow at that exact moment.

The awkward silence that settled in between them seemed to stretch out for hours. The television flickered blue and caused all sorts of shapes and shadows to play out on the walls. Eddie felt completely numb head to toe, he couldn't even move his mouth to speak even if he tried. It was Elise that tried to break the tension and silence first. "Listen, I think you should probably go. I'll…I'll talk to you tomorrow or something."

Eddie moved his head a bit forward as if to nod in agreement, and he was somehow able to move his feet forward towards the door. He didn't even look back at her when he reached it; he just went through and shut it behind him.


	6. Tequila Sunrise

Wow haven't worked on this story since the beginning of the semester. I got so busy with school work that this got pushed behind everything else. Anyways I hate people that start a fanfic and never finish it, so i really want it to be done. I actually wrote most of this chapter in september, it's a long one. Hopefully this will be finished in a few more chapters. Enjoy!

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Ch. 6 Tequila Sunrise

Hours had passed since Eddie had left Elise's room. After the scene in the bedroom he had gone out into the Tokyo night and stumbled down the foreign streets for a while. His real goal was to find a bar and get incredibly drunk, hoping to just drink his broken heart away, but that mission had proved to be fruitless as he was unable to find a bar. After this failure Eddie had somehow made his way back to the hotel and just flopped down in the corridor where all the SSX boarders where rooming. He knew that it would be inevitable that one of the competitors would come stumbling back from a night of drinking, spot him, and bother him with questions as to why he was hunched over in the corridor…but at this point he could care less. It was as if all the happiness he had ever felt had been drained out of him. He tried to think positively though. He had told her how he felt, she denied him, and now he could get busy with moving on in his life. It was such a small hope to look to, but he figured that some hope was better than none at all. Just think positive.

A loud thump caused Eddie to actually lift his eyes from the ground to see what the commotion was. A curvy figure in a little black dress staggered around the corner, carrying her stiletto shoes in one hand and her pink clutch in another. Marisol had obviously had a few drinks as she zigzagged her way down the hallway. It seemed to take her a moment to notice him sitting in the corridor, which was hard to believe with his orange fro and colorful clothing. Once she did notice him she stopped a bit in her tracks, taking him in with her russet eyes. He quickly retook his eye position on the floor as Marisol started to approach, and to his surprise she stopped right in front of him. Eddie could just barely make out her manicured feet out of the corner of his eye; still he didn't lift his eyes to meet hers.

"Well amigo, you definitely look like you're having just as good of a night as I am."

Curiosity got the best of him as he lifted is head to take a look at her. Though she was dressed for a good time Eddie could saw that she looked almost as miserable as he was feeling. Her hair was slightly disheveled and her make-up had run a bit under her eyes, signifying that some crying had taken place earlier. When she spoke her voice had a slight raspy quality as if she had been spent the last hour yelling. "So what brings you to sulk in a hallway at this time of night?"

Eddie gave a shrug, trying to look casual and not miserable. "Oh you know, just the usual stuff when one is trying to deal with the opposite sex. Why we can't we all just get along?"

"Honey, hombres and mujeres were never meant to get along. There are just too many differences. Women are emotional and don't know when to stop, while men are selfish pigs that just use women whenever they can."

He felt slightly insulted by this remark, but he could tell what the cause of her pain was. "So things with JP didn't work out?"

Marisol slumped against the wall next to him and slid down to the floor. "Of course not. I don't know what made me think it would. He obviously wants nothing to do with me anymore. I got dressed up all nice for him, I flirted, I danced with him…and right when I mention maybe us two getting back together he immediately leaves me and starts chatting up this Japanese whore at the bar. Just like that."

"Hey I'm sorry. That's really lame."

Marisol gave a little shrug. "I should be use to it by now, he always treats me like crap. I try to get over him, but then I always find myself thinking about him. The whole thing sucks."

"Well you know what, I don't think ya deserve that."

She turned her flawless face towards him and smiled a little at his comment. "Gracias. That's really sweet of you to say. So I'm guessing things didn't work out with Elise either, did they?" Eddie was a bit surprised that she knew, but before he could say so she held up a hand to stop him. "I saw you two leaving the bar together, and I could tell from the look on your face something was up. The way you looked at her and all, I could tell you really felt something towards her, though I never knew why."

Eddie could feel his face fall into a frown. "Yeah well I guess I should have listened to what you said about her. You were right, and all she did was shatter my heart while barely flinching."

"May I ask what happened?"

A sigh let out from his mouth as he began. "Basically I told her how I felt, that I was in love with her and thought we should date, and she just said that she didn't feel the same and she 'did not mean to lead me on.' Anyways after that everything is kind of a blur, but I did wandered around Tokyo looking for someplace to get drunk. Since I don't know any Japanese whatsoever though all I ended up doing is arguing with a man for an hour who I think was trying to sell me some moldy bread."

Not being able to stop herself the Venezuelan let out a laugh, and Eddie responded to her laugh with a smile. It felt good to smile; it seemed like forever since he had done so.

"Well, I think both of us could use some alcohol to make our heartbreaks go away. What do you say, want to come back to my room?"

Normally Eddie would have declined and would have assured himself that no good could come from this. But this night was different. His heart had just been crushed, and now that he had some female attention and company he didn't feel like letting it go just yet. He got up on his feet and followed Marisol to her room a few doors down.

The two stumbled inside and Marisol flung her stilettos and purse rather unceremoniously on the floor. Quickly she rummaged through the suitcases in the corner until she pulled out a bottle of amber liquid, already open but still about half full. Sitting on the bed she opened the bottle in a flash and took a swig of the drink. She shuddered slightly but seemed to be enjoying the effect the alcohol was having on her. She beckoned Eddie to join her and offered him the bottle; an unofficial peace offering between them.

Eddie looked at the bottle suspiciously. "What is it?"

"It's tequila silly. Good stuff too, they use ingredients from Venezuela to make it. Try it it's good."

Again she offered him the bottle and again he couldn't help but sport a suspicious look, but he decided that some alcohol was better than none. Grabbing the bottle he took a bigger drink than he meant to and sputtered a bit, but the alcohol made its way down his throat anyways. He immediately started to feel its effects and already he was more relaxed and euphoric. The two wasted no time downing the entire bottle with much gusto. By the end of it Eddie was starting to have problems focusing his vision, and he could tell that the tequila was also affecting Marisol by her uncoordinated movements and flushed cheeks. She grabbed the bottle and threw it over her shoulder, letting it crash into the wall. The two burst into a drunken laughter until they fell in a heap on the bed.

"You know what Eddie?" Marisol started, slurring her words and rolling on the bed until she was facing him. "Screw love! It doesn't get you anywhere. From now on I'm just going to party and sleep with every guy I can find, no regrets."

Eddie screwed his eyes up to try and make out her blurred features. "I couldn't agree more, well except for the guy part. Girls are better. Well for me, not for you. Unless you want them. Well what I mean is I'll take the girls you can take the guys. We'll just play the field together. It will be great."

Marisol rolled over again until her body was on top of his; she rested her chin on his chest as she stared at him. "Mhm good idea." She tried to poke his nose to help reiterate the point, but ended up poking his upper lip instead. She giggled a bit as she moved his lip around with her finger, and then she removed her finger and replaced it with her lips.

Eddie was sure that somewhere in the back of his mind there was a little voice screaming this was the biggest mistake he could make. If there was such a voice though he didn't hear it. As Marisol's lips made contact with his he felt himself just give in. Why not? She was hot, she was available, and she was kissing him. He kissed her back passionately and wrapped his arms around her waist. Eddie had to admit that it wasn't as romantic as it should have been; her breath smelled like alcohol and their kisses were clumsy. Still he found that he didn't mind that much. As their passion started to increase Marisol moved her hands to his chest and started to fumble with the buttons on his Hawaiian shirt. With much difficulty the two were able to remove his shirt, and when it was successfully discarded on the floor Marisol sat up and worked on removing her own dress. Even in the dull light filtering through the window he was still able to see the soft contours of her figure when she finally pulled the black dress over her head. As she lowered her body back down Eddie could feel the heat coming from her, and when her skin made contact with his own his nerves seemed to be exploding with fervor. His hands ran up and down the smooth skin on her back as she moved her lips back to his own.

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The rest of the night became a haze of warmth and adrenaline, and when the morning light hit Eddie's eyes the next day he did not remember a thing. A pounding headache was the first thing that greeted him, though Eddie didn't remember drinking either. He remembered trying to find a bar after Elise broke his heart. Did he find one? Did he drink alone or with someone? The questions that were swarming in Eddie's head were starting to make his hangover worse. With a moan he stretched out his arms to the sides of the bed, but instead of hitting the sheets the left hand grazed something warm. The warm object startled him and he quickly lifted his head to get a view of this thing in his bed. Though her back was turned to him there was no doubt in mind who she was. The streaky blonde hair and dark tan gave her away; Marisol was fast asleep and half naked next to him. The sight of her triggered Eddie's memory. He remembered going to her room, the bottle of tequila, and the drunken sex. A feeling of nausea that was not caused by the hangover hit him hard in the stomach.

Looking around the room Eddie realized that he wasn't in his bed or his room. Marisol's clothes were scattered all over the floor and there was the unmistakable smell of perfume in the air. It must have still been early; Eddie could only hear the sound of Marisol breathing. The rest of the hotel was absolutely still.

Eddie knew that Marisol drank twice as much as he did, and when she would awake she would be just as confused about the previous night as he had been. Not wanting to be around when that happened he slowly lifted himself off of the bed and quietly gathered his clothing. It wasn't until he put on his striped pants and long-sleeve shirt that he realized that his Hawaiian shirt was no where to be found. He didn't care though, he just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. Grabbing his shoes and socks Eddie quietly tip toed over to the door and snuck out.


	7. Eavesdropping

Sorry this took so long, I have been ridiculously busy and then my heart fell away from writing this story... but I'm back! The problem is that I'm not sure how this story is going to end, so I've been putting it off. I have an idea now though, so probably a couple more chapters left in this one. Enjoy!

EDIT: oops I left out a part where Marisol finds Eddie's shirt, now her mentioning it is added to the story

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Ch. 7 Eavesdropping

As the elevator slowly grinded up to the floor where all the SSX boarders were staying, Elise found her stomach tightening. She knew that she had to talk to Eddie after the awkward ending they had last night. Elise felt bad that he had feelings for her that she could not return, but it was not her fault that she did not feel the same… well not completely her fault. She did admit that she had led him on a bit, but she just liked his company. He always made her laugh and they could just hang out and relax around each other. She didn't love him; she loved spending time with him. She wasn't exactly sure what she would try to accomplish talking to him, but Elise knew that she couldn't just leave things up in the air and awkward like they were.

When the elevator reached the floor Elise quickly got out and made her way to Eddie's room. She took a moment to compose herself before knocking on the door. No answer. Elise tried again and again but there was still no answer. Perhaps he was avoiding her? She put her ear up to the door, but there was not a sound to be heard inside. She thought maybe he really wasn't there. Shrugging she decided to just scan the hotel to see if he was anywhere around. He couldn't avoid her forever.

Elise walked hurriedly down the corridor when a sound coming from a nearby room made her suddenly stopped in her tracks. The noise of someone crying could be heard coming from the door that stood ajar next to the blond. Tip-toeing quietly to the door Elise put her ear near the crack and listened closely. Sure enough there was the sound of sobbing coming from the room, but accompanying it was a familiar voice trying to comfort the sobbing voice.

"C'mon now sister, it cannot be all that bad." Immediately Elise recognized the voice; it was Seeiah, which means the crying voice had to belong to…

"NOT THAT BAD! Are you kidding me chica?! This is the worst thing that could happen to me!"

Now Elise was elated. Something terrible had happened to Marisol, and Elise would be lucky enough to hear it. She held her breath in anticipation.

"Well then why did you do it?"

"Man I don't know, I was drunk out of my mind! We both were. If stupid JP wasn't such a pig than this would have never happened, that hijo de puta."

"I can't believe you even remember sleeping with him, I mean you downed a bunch of beers at the bar and then helped down a bottle of tequila with him."

"I didn't remember, just flashes really. I found his shirt this morning under the bed when I woke up."

Seeiah spoke again to break the silence. "Well you know it's not bad if no one hears about it. I mean he might not even tell anyone, and if he doesn't than it's only the three of us who know—"

"Ha as if! You know this place, word travels fast and no one can keep a secret. Everyone will hear about it… oh god even JP will hear about! Everyone is going to find out that I slept with Eddie fucking Wachowski!"

If Seeiah and Marisol said anything after that Elise did not hear it. The sound of her heart beating was pounding in her ears and her breathing became labored. Eddie slept with Marisol, the whore of the tour? How could this be? Even if he was dead drunk Eddie would have more sense and taste to sleep with a slut like Marisol. At first she didn't believe it, that maybe it was some sort of joke on her, but no one knew she was listening in and Elise knew that if Marisol did sleep with Eddie she probably would be crying like that.

Elise didn't remember walking away from Marisol's door, but she somehow found herself in her own hotel room and she sat down on the edge of her bed. She felt light headed and everything seemed to be spinning. Just a day ago everything seemed to be going well, but now this? It was at this moment that she knew she needed to talk to Eddie, about last night, about his slut, everything. Taking a few deep breaths to steady herself she headed out of her room to scour the hotel for the redhead once again.


	8. Breaking the Ice

Wow, so I started this about two years ago and I only now finish it. This is why I don't do multi-chapter stories, I usually don't finish them. Anyways here it is, the end of the story. Part of the reason also why this took forever was I didn't know how I wanted this to end. Now I do. I hope you've enjoyed this one, and thank you for all the feedback!

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Ch. 8 Breaking the Ice

Since it was already past noon and most of the caffeine junkies had already had their fill, Eddie found he was the only one in the café as he nursed a cup of coffee. He was trying to rid himself of his hangover as a result of the drinking binge he shared with Marisol the night before. After leaving her Eddie went straight back to his own room and just fell back asleep in his clothes on his bed. When he woke up some hours later his hangover was still haunting him, so he took a long hot shower to help and put on some fresh clothes. On his way downstairs Eddie was able to borrow some aspirin from Zoe (who was also suffering from her own hangover) and went down to the café near the lobby to get some strong caffeine in his body.

It was at the point where Eddie had finish downing the last of his coffee that he saw Elise storming from the lobby. He had seen her pissed many times thanks to her short temper, but something about her face as she headed towards him looked a bit different. Maybe it was just Eddie's imagination, but she looked a little hurt as well as ready to snap him in half. Once she reached where Eddie was sitting he thought she might yell at him or even hit him, but to his surprise she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the chair. Eddie yelled in protest but Elise just continued to drag him along until they reached the elevator, where when they got in Elise smashed the close door button right away.

Once the doors close Eddie turned toward her with utter confusion. "Elise, what the heck is going—"

"You… you slept with Marisol you pig!"

Eddie could do nothing but stand there in silence. Part of him was in shock that Elise even found out about it in mere hours after it happened, and part of him was in shock just hearing someone saying it out loud. It was almost like when the words left her lips it wasn't just in Eddie's head any more, it really happened. He really had sex with a girl who was known for sleeping around with almost every guy at every port, and he had really hurt his friend.

It seemed like ages had passed by before Eddie was able to say anything. "Elise, you know I…"

Before he was able to get anything important out though the elevator doors opened and Kaori was standing in front of them. Looked like they already had reached their floor.

Usually Kaori was bubbly and full of joy, but when she took a look at both Eddie and Elise's faces he smile immediately faded away. "Eddie-san! Elise! Why you two looks so sad?"

"Um nothing. Listen Kaori we just need to go," Eddie was able to mumble. Kaori must have realized the graveness of the situation because she let them go by without another word. Elise walked ahead of Eddie and went immediately to her room. Eddie followed of course; he knew that there was still a lot more talking to be done.

Usually Elise would sit or lie down on the bed when the two of them would hang out in her room, but she seemed too angry to even do that. She just paced around back and forth across the room, while Eddie could do nothing more but lean against the wall and stare down at the carpet. He could hear her breathing heavily with each step she took. Finally she stopped and faced him, but Eddie couldn't bring himself to lift his eyes and look at her. He just continued to stare at his shoes, like a kid being scolded by his mother.

"I just… I just cannot believe you would stoop so low as to sleep with her! What were you thinking. She's the biggest whore bag on this planet, and yet you go just ahead and screw her brains out. I'd hate to think of all the STDs you've probably—"

"Ok stop it!" Eddie interrupted. "I can't take this anymore. You know why I slept with her? Because of you, because I love you and you just shot me down!"

"Don't you dare blame your stupid actions on me! I'm not completely proud of what I did but I did not make you sleep with Marisol."

"Yes you did. When you told me that you didn't like me and you could never like me was the exact moment that you threw me at her."

"That's not what I said, don't you dare twist my words." The Canadian's words held such furry that Eddie thought the windows might shake. After a few moments Elise seemed to have calmed down a bit as she had moved from pacing to sitting on the bed. "What I had said was I don't feel that way towards you."

Eddie took Elise's place pacing the room. "Well why not me? I know I'm not the best looking thing around, but I mean we get along really well."

"Eddie…"

"I know, I know you just can't look at me that way." Eddie finally grew tired of pacing and joined Elise sitting on the bed. He let his eyes graze over the blonde's curvy figure while she just looked straight ahead, lost in her own thoughts. He knew the contours of her body so well that he could recreate it in his mind with his eyes closed. He knew every quirk she had and when she reacted to a situation he knew exactly what she was thinking. The two of them knew each other so well, and yet the one thing he wanted from her she didn't seem to want to give.

The redhead didn't realize how long he was staring at her until her eyes met his. Quickly looking away Eddie cleared his throat. "I mean, all that's stopping you is that you can't really see me in that way, right?"

A small sigh escaped from her ruby lips. "Well yes, but I think you'll agree with me that it's kind of a big problem."

It wasn't a very funny statement, in fact it was hardly funny at all, but because the situation was so tense it seemed to make it all the funnier. Laughter echoed around them as they fell back on the bed with tears sparkling in their eyes, their lungs gasping for air. For Eddie it felt like the first time he had laughed in ages. The past twenty-four hours had been nothing but a nightmare.

After a little while passed the two were able to compose themselves and sit back up. The laughter attack must have caused Elise to overheat some for she removed her snow jacket, revealing her black tank top underneath and her soft and supple skin. Eddie had to prevent himself from blatantly starting at her obvious beauty. Then they started to fall back into conversation.

"Ok so you can't look at me in that way, but have you even tried?"

Elise seemed slightly annoyed that her freckled friend kept on brining it up, but instead of being short with him like she usually was she gave him a more honest answer. "Well no, I guess not."

"Well then, if you've never tried then how can you know for sure?"

"I just… I just know."

He felt that now he was getting somewhere. This was not something he would just let go. The Canadian didn't sound completely sure about her feelings. He knew he needed to make a move now or else the moment would be lost forever.

Just as he was thinking this he looked over at Elise. Her skin seemed to be glowing in the light, like it belonged on the body of a Greek goddess. It seemed so velvety he could not tear his eyes away. Without thinking (and if he had he might not had done this) Eddie reached out and stroked her arm.

Elise quickly turned her head and seemed to have a look of initial shock, but she didn't say anything or remove Eddie's hand. If fact she closed her eyes as if she wanted to just focus on the sensation his fingertips were creating. He took this as a good sign and continued to let his fingers explore her body. They traveled up and down her arm, around her shoulder, and down her back.

Her eyes continued to be hidden behind her eyelids, and the redhead become so distracted by staring at the features of her face that his hand had stopped roaming around her supple features. Now that his touch had left Elise's skin though her eyes immediately snapped open and turned to face him.

Eddie gazed deep into her eyes, those ice blue eyes. They were piercing deep into him, and for a brief moment he felt like he could see everything in her. He could see every time she felt weak, every time she doubted herself, and more than anything he could see the internal struggle she was having with herself right now. And he could see the answer.

Without breaking eye contact Eddie brought his hand up to the delicate skin on Elise's face. His freckled hands caressed the beautiful face in front of them.

"Elise… I'm so sorry I slept with Marisol. I never want to hurt you like that again. I only want to make you happy." He meant every word. As he held he blonde head in his own hands he could feel her melting away her defenses. Eddie leaned closer, closer still, letting his lips brush against hers. And then he let himself lean in a inch closer.

Finally. Eddie was kissing Elise. He felt like his heart could explode in his chest. Her lips were as soft as he imagined. He could feel her starting to kiss back, releasing herself from her frosty nature.

Their tongues meshed together, and their kisses grew more fierce and passionate. It was as if they couldn't get their fill of one another. After a while it was as if kissing wasn't enough anymore, and Eddie felt Elise's fingernails start to claw at his shirt as she desperately tried to locate the buttons. As the redhead helped unbutton his own top he moved to help Elise remove hers. Layers and layers of clothing were quickly shed away. Their naked bodies made contact, and Eddie realized how different this experience was compared to the drunken escapade with Marisol. In that event everything was hazy, unclear, and the overall air had a sort of sour smell. Here he felt alert, and every detail seemed to be intensified. The snow white of her skin, the delicious smell of her hair, the sound she made in his ear. Eddie could sense all of it, like his brain was in overdrive. Yet it wasn't enough. He wanted more of her. His lips trickled over every part of her exposed skin they could reach. His hands trailed up and down her sides, stopping to stroke her stomach or cup her voluptuous breast. This was what he wanted. Her.

* * *

As the sun started to creep lower behind the Tokyo skyline Eddie lay on the bed, letting the orange light bathe his exposed upper body. Laying a mere centimeters away, curled up in his arms was a blonde bombshell. Not just any bombshell, the bombshell, the one he had always cared for, the one he always wanted. Elise was napping, breathing softly on the nape of Eddie's neck. To him it all seemed surreal, like he would wake up any moment and be devastated that it was no more than a good dream. She was really there though, lying at his side with his Hawaiian shirt wrapped around her. Eddie just could not believe it was all true.

Just then Elise stirred and opened her bright blue eyes, still groggy from sleep. He tried not to stir, but she seemed to instinctively know he was awake and she turned her gaze up to him. Just then she let a smile to unfold across her face, and she raised her arms to stretch and shake the sleepiness from her body.

Eddie was the first to speak. "Good morning, or rather good evening. It's almost night."

A small laugh escaped from her luscious lips. "Well I'm still on Canadian time, and it's morning there."

"Fair enough."

A silence stretched out across them, not an awkward one but a contemplative one. So much had happened, so much had changed. Their entire relationship had now been flipped on its head.

Eddie softly stroked the Canadian's supple arm as he tried to delicately bring up the subject. "So… what now?"

The pink elephant in the room had been called out into the open. Elise shifted uncomfortably, releasing herself from his grasp. "Honestly I don't know."

An uncomfortable feeling started to rise in his stomach. "What do you mean? Do you think this was all a mistake?"

"No of course not, I just don't know where we go from here."

The redhead felt his face flush with annoyance. "Why not dating? That would be the logical choice."

He could sense her temper was starting to rise with his own. "Why are you getting mad at me? A day ago I was sure I didn't feel that way towards you, and now you just want me to just accept all of this right away like it's not big deal!"

"Well if it is such a big deal for you do date me then maybe this was a mistake!" Eddie yelled back. This only perpetuated her flaming temper, and in a flash Elise was out of the bed and in the process of throwing her clothes back on.

Eddie suddenly realized he didn't want to lose Elise right when he had just started fulfilling his dream.

"Wait, wait. You're right. This is happenin' so fast for you, even though it seems like ages for me. I'm sorry for being insensitive. Please come back here. Please." He looked at her with what he was sure was the saddest look to ever cross his face. At first the Canadian continued to dress, but with one look in his direction she caught the blow of his sadness. Her anger almost immediately subsided, and her face seemed to sag with the same sorrow Eddie was feeling inside. His plea had worked though. She abandoned her initial mission of getting dressed and climbed back under the covers with her friend. The storm clouds had passed.

They lay quiet for a few moments, taking each other in once again. It was Elise who broke the ice.

"How could we do it?"

"Wha?"

"How could be together Eddie? I mean look at us, we're not even dating and the last few days we have been at each others' throats. If this is how we are now, how are we going to be when we've been dating for two months? Six months? A year?"

"You really think we would last that long? I was just planning to screw you for a few weeks then let you down gently."

A full laugh broke out of Elise. Eddie smiled, it felt good to make her laugh again. He waited for the laughter to subside a bit before continuing. "For serious though, I don't know how we're going to last this. I think though that just because we fight now and then doesn't mean we're not meant for each other, we just deal with our problems differently than other couples. And hey, maybe we need to work on not losin' our tempers or something. But I do know this, I want to be with you, more than anything else. I mean that Elise."

Even though the sun was gone, and the only light was coming from the Tokyo streetlights outside, Eddie could see her smile. It wasn't one of her usual smiles, where there was a hint of confidence and smugness, but something else altogether. It was as if in that smile was everything Elise wanted to say, to tell him that she felt the same way. He knew that it wasn't in her character to say such things, but her alluring smile said it all for him.

The freckled redhead wrapped his arms tighter around the blonde Canadian, as if afraid to lose her. He asked again, "So, what now?"

She gave what sounded like a joyful sigh against his bare skin. "Now we sleep."

Now it was Eddie's turn to smile. They would be alright. They had each other. They were together at last.


End file.
